Fairy Misunderstood
by eternalrue
Summary: A little fluff about Lucy and Natsu ending in a steamy lemon. R&R please! Enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: My goodness it's been so long since I've written anything. I'm posting this whole story at once, so reviews at the end please! Sorry I really suck at cliff hangers. Also, sorry if Natsu seems OOC a bit. It's not easy to make him romantic like he is. Anyway, read and enjoy! Thank you all!

* * *

Tears. Thats all she could, feel. Hot streaming tears on her cheeks. Had he really just said that? Without any remorse. She ran. Ran as fast as she could as far as she could. She had to get away from him. Her life depended on it. Get to her house, pack her things, and leave. Leave him and Fairy Tail far, far behind. His words echoed in her brain.

"I don't like you like that, Lucy."

The last thought she had before the sound of a screeching magic vehicle and utter blackness consumed her...

* * *

One week earlier

"Ugh!" a certain, busty blond stellar mage groaned exasperatedly.

"Oh c'mon Lucy!" her best friend and partner replied, a great, stupid grin on his face.

"Oh sure! You didn't even have to do anything Natsu!" She dragged her feet feeling exhausted as they made their way back to the guild.

"It's not my fault!" he explained, his hands going up behind his head in that happy relaxed manner that always seemed to annoy her.

"Yea Lucy!" Happy, their blue Exceed friend piped up, flying in circles around her. "How were we suppose to know all they wanted was to dig a bunch of holes?"

"Yea!" Natsu agreed. "And that Virgo chick is way better at that stuff than we are!"

Lucy glowered at the pair. "You were the ones who picked this job! Did you even read the flier before you just dragged me off to do it!?"

"Well...," the dragon slayer crossed his arms on his chest in thought. "It said 200,000 jewels... So I thought it would be something cool, like fighting monsters!" he sounded excited as he said it, punching the air in front of him. "I never would have expected it to be just digging a bunch of holes!" His hands were behind his head again and he was grinning widely at her.

"So thats a no! I can't believe you Natsu!" She threw her arms in the air angrily. "And it wasn't just some holes! It was a whole fricken trench! Around a massive castle! Do you have any idea how much magic energy it took for Virgo to dig constantly for 5 hours straight?!"

"Nope!" he sounded completely uninterested in her fatigue, and continued on.

"Jerk," she mumbled, to exhausted to bicker any longer.

After about an hour of walking, Lucy had fallen far behind the pair of boys. Though she knew Magnolia was only a little farther she was having trouble staying on her feet, let alone keeping up with their brisk pace. Unable to keep going she stopped and propped herself against a tree just off the road. She didn't care whether they noticed, she knew where she was now anyway. She looked up at the setting sun. It was already late in the day. Had they really been gone that long? They had set out early in the morning. What she hadn't realized was that they were taking a very long time to get back to the guild.

Up along the road a way, Natsu and Happy were joking around about who had the better Gray impression when they went to ask Lucy her opinion. Finally the two noticed she wasn't with them.

"Lucy?" Natsu called out in surprise, the grin he had disappearing.

"I wonder where she went," was Happy's reply.

"Hey Lucy!"

"Luuucy!"

They called for her, worry creeping over them as they both ran around looking for her.

"Would you two stop that? You look like morons," the blond mage explained as she walked down the road, her breathing heavy.

"Lucy!" Happy flew straight into her in a big hug. "We were worried!"

"Yea!" Natsu said.

"It's not like I was very far away. You guys just suck at looking." By now she was panting and sweating heavily.

"Lucy?" Happy asked worriedly. "You don't look so good!"

"Lucy!" both boys cried as she fainted in front of them.

* * *

When she awoke, Lucy was in a comfortable bed in a dimly lit room. She could vaguely hear voices outside.

"Don't worry Natsu, Lucy will be fine," the guild's resident healer, Wendy, was explaining to him. "She just over exerted herself again. She should be fine in a couple of hours."

"Are you sure? She's really ok?" Natsu sounded remarkably worried to her. But then again, he always over worried for his nakama.

"Yes, I'm sure. Why don't you stay and wait for her to wake up? I'm sure it'll make you feel better, and she'll probably want someone to explain what happened to her."

There was a long pause before the door opened and closed silently. She did her best to pretend she was still asleep, feeling embarrassed for eavesdropping. There was a quiet moment before he let out a little groan and she could hear him scratching his head.

"Why do you have to do this kind of stuff?" he whispered to the Lucy he assumed was sleeping. "You always make me worry so much. You don't have to push yourself so hard." His hand, remarkably soft she thought, gently rubbed her exposed arm. "You don't have to prove anything to us. We all know that you're doing your best. So please stop hurting yourself..." his voice quivered a little, and he stroked her cheek.

Lucy felt terrible. She knew he assumed she was asleep while confessing this to her. How would he feel if he knew she were awake? She blushed madly trying not to seem to tense to be asleep. After a moment that felt like eternity she could hear him lean back in his chair. The door opened and closed and she heard a familiar voice, nearly causing her to sigh in relief.

"How is she?" Happy whispered, landing on his best friend's head.

"Still sleeping."

"Aye. Mirajane said she'd look after Lucy if you wanted to take a break."

"Nah, I'm ok." Natsu grinned widely at his friend, but Happy could see the stress in his features. "She'll wake up any minute now, I just know it!"

"Aye."

As if on cue, well she had waited for it, Lucy gave a meek groan and rolled over to look at them. "How's a girl supposed to sleep with you two jabbering over there?" she teased, smiling up at them.

"Lucy!" Natsu practically leapt out of his chair at her, startling her. "Are you ok? How do you feel? Should I go get Wendy?"

Happy stood on the bed a few inches from her face. It looked to her like he could cry at any second. "We were really worried about you Lucy!" He tugged cutely at the blankets covering her.

She sat up and patted them both on the head. "I'm fine, really." She flashed them a bright smile. "So don't worry. There's no need to bother Wendy any more. But anyway," she looked thoughtful for a moment. "What exactly happened to me?"

"Well," Happy began. "You remember we were on our way back to Magnolia right?"

"Yea. I had taken a break and you guys left without me. You guys were all freaking out and stuff. The next thing I can really remember is waking up here-" she barely blushed remembering Natsu's sweet words, "to you guys yammering away."

"Aye. You fainted all of a sudden in the road. It really scared us! Natsu ran the whole way back to the guild with you on his back!"

She smiled, then realized said boy had been quiet for a long while, sitting back in his chair, looking at the ground, seemingly deep in thought.

"I see. Thank you Natsu!" She smiled brightly at him.

"Yea," he answered, almost grumpily, without looking at her. All of a sudden he got up and went to the door to leave. He paused for just a moment still not looking at her. "Don't do that again, y'hear?" Then he was gone.

"Well that was weird," Lucy said, making a face. "What's his problem?"

"We were all pretty worried about you Lucy," Happy explained. "But Natsu especially. He blames himself for what happened. He really hates it when you over exert yourself because of him."

"I know," she whispered, looking down.

Just then Mirajane and Wendy entered the room, and a few other worried faces looked in from the door. Happy and her exchanged a last smile before he flew out above them to follow the grumpy fire mage.

"How are you feeling?" Wendy asked.

"Fine, thank you."

"We've all been really worried about you," Mirajane stated, sitting in the chair Natsu had abandoned.

"I know," Lucy answered, feeling guilty again. "I didn't mean to cause any trouble."

"It wasn't trouble!" Levy protested from the door. "Your our nakama!"

Then Erza pushed her way into the room, causing everyone to disperse.

"Don't be too hard on her," Mirajane said to the knight before leaving.

Erza nodded then looked at Lucy sternly. The girl winced at the piercing gaze. "You had us all very worried," the knight began harshly. "Natsu nearly damaged the town in his hurry to bring you here."

"I-I'm really sorry," Lucy whispered, her eyes glued to the sheets.

"He was heedless in choosing the job, and then letting you do it all by yourself. And he should have paid more attention when you were getting tired." Lucy was a little confused when Erza paused. "But you should know better. Natsu may seem to have an endless supply of energy, but you know you don't. You should know better than to let things get out of hand like they did. You aren't ignorant like he is, and you know your limits." She glared disciplinarily at the ashamed stellar mage. But then her voice softened. "You don't have to push so hard. We're all here for you. So don't do that again!" The last part was stern and forceful before Erza left.

"Yea. Thanks." Lucy felt like she could cry.

When she returned to her house that night, after many hugs and expressions of worry, Lucy was surprised to find that Natsu and Happy weren't already there waiting for her. She just shrugged it off though, assuming they were probably tired from stressing out over her all day; she certainly knew she was exhausted. Wishing she could have waited until morning except for the fact she was covered in dirt still, she quickly showered and went to bed without dinner. She awoke in the morning feeling refreshed and famished.


	2. Chapter 2

After a quick breakfast, Lucy headed for the guild. She had expected for Natsu to be there before her, looking at the jobs, like usual. To her surprise she didn't see him, or his blue little friend. With a shrug, she headed up to the bar and took a seat.

"Hey Mira," she said cheerfully to her silver haired friend.

"Good morning Lucy. Feeling better today?" Mirajane responded, wiping a mug clean.

"Much, thanks. Natsu and Happy aren't here yet?"

"Actually they've come and gone already."

Lucy was surprised. "Really? Did they go on a job?"

"Yea. I thought it was strange they didn't wait for you. But I guess he just feels bad about yesterday still."

"Huh." Lucy was a little disappointed. After all, what was she supposed to do now?

After having a milkshake and chatting for a moment with Levy, Lucy headed into the town of Magnolia. She didn't have enough money to go shopping or anything, but looking every once in a while was ok. The town seemed unusually busy to her today, but she didn't let it get her down. In fact, she rather liked the unusual hustle and bustle in the town. Before she knew it she was haggling with a traveling merchant that had just come into town.

"Oh come on!" Lucy whined. "Can't you lower the price at all?"

"Nope, 10,000 jewels."

"But thats ridiculous! It's just a book! And not even a popular one!"

"Sorry girly," the creepy old guy responded. "Thats the price."

"Really?" Lucy changed her whole demeanor. "You can't change it? Not even for little ol' me?" she asked, leaning over a bit, showing off her endowments.

"Oh c'mon Luce!" an altogether too familiar voice said from behind her. "You know that never works!"

She spun around angrily. "And just what are you doing here, Natsu." She said his name with venom.

"Sheesh, Lucy, you're weird. Happy and I are doing a job."

"You can put those over here," the merchant told him, indicating the boxes Natsu had been carrying.

"Oh yea? And just where is that little furball anyway?"

"He's keeping guard over the rest of the stuff."

She shrugged. "Fine. I don't need the book anyway. But why did you guys take a job without me? You almost never do that," she sounded a little disappointed.

He scratched the back of his head, then started to walk away. "I figured you'd wanna rest after yesterday. And anyway this is the kind of job you would complain about the whole time. Not that you don't complain about every job." He was grinning happily, like he didn't even realize what he'd just said was an insult.

"Well fine!" She suddenly stopped following him, and he looked back at her confused. "If thats how its gonna be I'll just take a job of my own too. One that I won't complain about at all!" She stomped off towards the guild.

"She is so weird," Natsu mumbled, resting his hands behind his head.

Lucy returned to the guild in a flurry.

"What's the matter?" Mirajane asked her, but was completely ignored.

"I'll show him. I don't complain about everything!" A moment later. "Aha! This sounds nice and easy. And fun too! Hey Mira, keep this a secret!" Without explaining anything she took the job and left in a flash, determined to prove that fire brain wrong.

* * *

After a long day of sorting books in the town library, Lucy returned to the guild. She was quite proud of herself, and was sure that she hadn't complained even once. She was so ready to rub it in that jerk Natsu's face.

When she entered the guild hall everyone was already up to their usual antics; fire and ice mages fighting again, Cana clinging to her barrel of booze, Elfman spouting some nonsense about being a man, Levy's face buried in a book while Jet and Droy looked on hopefully, and all the rest too. That made her smile a little as she approached Mirajane and the bar.

"One vanilla milkshake," she said happily as she took a seat.

"Coming right up!" Mirajane replied. "How'd the solo job go?"

"Good. It was definitely worth it. And I'm certain I didn't complain at all!" She fist pumped triumphantly.

"Oh? Was that really important?" Mirajane handed her the drink.

"Yea! I had to prove to that jerk Natsu that I don't complain about every job!"

"Then it sounds like you succeeded!" She smiled merrily, before turning to grab some mugs discarded on the bar.

"Hey Natsu!" the elated Lucy called, sauntering over to where he and Gray were fighting.

"Not right now Lucy! This is important!" Even though he said it as quickly as he could, the tiny lapse in concentration allowed Gray to land a hit, sending Natsu flying across the guild, destroying the tabled he landed on.

"Ha! Give up yet, fire breath?" Gray mocked.

"Not a chance, ice freak!" Natsu replied, launching himself at the ice mage, fists ablaze.

The two struggled for a few moments, not landing any real hits on each other, but successfully destroying a battalion of chairs and tables in their wake. Lucy's patience for the pair was wearing exceptionally thin.

"Would you two just stop it already!" she shouted at them, loud enough to quiet the whole guild. "I can't believe you! I try to tell you something really important and you can't even be bothered to listen to me! You are such a jerk Natsu Dragneel!" She stormed out of the guild, shaking with rage.

The whole hall was quiet for a long while, all eyes on Natsu.

"What the hell did you do, flame brain?" Gray asked finally.

"How should I know! I haven't even seen her like all day!" Natsu retorted, riddled with confusion.

"Natsu...," Mirajane said softly, walking over to him. "You really hurt her feelings. She tried really hard to do something to impress you today, and she was so excited to tell you about it. She even made me keep it a secret all day to surprise you."

He scratched his head awkwardly, and looked at the ground. The guild slowly returned to normal again, other than the absence of Lucy, and the now sulky Natsu laying across the bar.

"Sheesh... What's her problem?" he asked when Mirajane walked over. "She's been acting really weird lately."

"Oh I dunno. It just seems to me like she's been trying extra hard. Maybe she's doing it for someone special!" the silver haired woman cried, a sparkle in her eye.

"I don't get it," he replied pouting even more. "How is over working yourself supposed to impress anybody? Wouldn't that just make others worry about you?"

"I suppose. But if you do something specific, in a special way, it makes it more personal. Like you're doing it all for just that one special someone!" Her eyes were all glittery again.

"I don't understand women at all," the confused boy mumbled.

Lucy returned to her home and threw herself onto her bed, a swirl of emotions engulfing her. On the one hand she was furious with Natsu and wanted to pummel him. On the other she was horrified at the scene she'd made in front of the whole guild. She knew what Mirajane would think, especially since she had taken that job just to prove the stupid boy wrong. She would be mortified if Mirajane started to tell people she was doing special things just for Natsu! People might get the wrong idea, and start to think she liked him! Not that it was entirely wrong. But she would never tell anyone, especially him.

"He is such a jerk!" she grumbled into her pillow.

"Who is?"  
Her head shot up. "Natsu! Get out of my window! Don't even think of coming into my house tonight! Go home!" She threw a pillow at him.

"Alright, alright! Sheesh! You don't need to shout! Your so weird," he replied, before jumping away and leaving, just like she asked.

"I'm weird? Ugh..." She buried her face in the pillow again. "You're the weirdo who sneaks into peoples houses, eats all their food, uses their shower, sleeps in their bed..." She sighed deeply. "I wish he would just stop saying things like that sometimes. I know he doesn't mean it... It still hurts sometimes." It wasn't long before she had fallen asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

When Lucy awoke the next morning, she had an overwhelming feeling of dread. She didn't want to go to the guild at all. Mirajane would tease her all day, she just knew it, and she couldn't bring herself to face Natsu. Not after she yelled at him like that, for what probably seemed like no reason at all to him. She considered having Plue take Mirajane a note saying she was just staying home today, but decided avoiding the problem would just make it worse. After a slow dragging start, she arrived at the entrance to the guild, way more nervous than she thought she should be.

"Lu-chan!" a bright and peppy voice called as its owner rushed up to her. Lucy turned to see a smiling Levy stop next to her. "You're here rather late today. Is something the matter?"

The blonde sighed heavily. "Well, not really, it's just... I'm gonna have to apologize to Natsu for yelling at him yesterday, and I'm sure he doesn't even understand why. But I can't just avoid him all day, 'cuz he'd probably just sneak into my house and demand answers later."

"Well, then it's probably just best to get it over with! If you like I could come with you."

"No, thats ok. I'm sure the rest of the Shadow Gears is waiting for you to get started. But thanks."

"If you say so! I'll see you later then Lu-chan. Tell me how it goes!" At that Levy bounced happily into the guild.

"Ok Lucy! You can do this. Just ignore the pounding in your chest that doesn't make any sense anyway. I mean seriously, it's just Natsu!"

"What about me?"

She cursed the stars. Why in the world did he always pop up behind her at the most inopportune times? "I-it's nothing Natsu." She turned to look at him, cursing herself for stuttering.

"Were you talking to yourself again?" He looked at her with a cheeky grin. "You are so weird sometimes."

A little pain shot through the blonde. "Yea whatever. Just leave me alone." She headed into the guild, spotting Happy already trying to present Charle with a fish.

"Wait! Lucy!" Natsu hurried in after her, standing in her path. "What is up?" he asked, resting his hands behind his head. "You've been in a bad mood all week."

Deciding it would be best to just let it go she responded, "It's nothing ok. I've just had a lot on my mind lately. And sorry about yesterday." She looked away from him.

"What about it?" He seemed genuinely confused.

"For yelling at you and stuff." To her displeasure she felt herself blush.

"Oh that." He grinned widely at her. "No big deal. So what kind of job you wanna do today?" he asked excitedly, and they headed for the request board.

"I dunno Natsu. I'm not sure I'm up to a job today." She sat at the bar.

"And why is that?" a bubbly Mirajane asked, prancing over with a ridiculous sparkle in her eye.

"Yea! Are you sick or something?" Natsu asked sitting next to her, both of them ignoring Mirajane as she fantasized away.

"No, no! It's nothing like that," Lucy replied, waving them off. "It's like I said, I've got a lot on my mind, and I'm a bit stressed out."

"I see." For a moment the dragon slayer seemed to be deep in thought. "I know!" He jumped up from his seat excitedly. "We'll just do something fun today instead!" With that he grabbed Lucy's hand and started dragging her out of the guild. "C'mon Happy! We're gonna go have some fun!"

"Hey wait!" The poor girl's protests were in vain. His mind was made up.

* * *

A little over a half hour later, the three were at the beach. The second they got there Natsu was already making a fool of himself, running around like a maniac, and Happy was mesmerized by a school of small fish just off the shore. She was unable to restrain a face-palm as she looked at her two best friends. She also couldn't help but laugh at them as the stress melted away. Maybe this was what she needed after all. A break and a stern reminder that Natsu was Natsu. Just as the blonde stellar mage had gotten comfy, and began to sunbathe, an ominous shadow appeared in front of her.

"We were told you needed help relaxing."

Lucy instantly recognized Erza, who had a hint of excitement in her voice. "It's ok Erza! Really I'm fine!" She tried her best to wave her intimidating friend off.

"Nonsense! What good is a day at the beach without your friends!"

Lucy caught sight of Mirajane peeking around Erza, winking at her.

Without another word, Erza deposited a ton of beach stuff in front of her. There were umbrellas, mats, towels, beach balls, a volley ball, buckets and scoops, every floatation device imaginable, lounge chairs, and even a large cooler. "All right! Lets get started!" As if on cue, nearly all the mages in Fairy Tail streamed out onto the beach. Without warning a pile of girls jumped on Lucy, laughing and giggling uncontrollably.

"Lu-chan!" Levy cried over the crowd, hugging her friend tightly. "You should have told us you needed some fun!"

Everyone cried in agreement, as they released Lucy and began setting up all the stuff Erza had brought. It wasn't long before all the girls were sunbathing and giggling at the boys who were taking a game of beach volleyball way to seriously. Naturally a fight broke out between Natsu and Gray effectively ending the game. After that there was a sand castle contest between the boys and girls. While the girls all worked in sync according to Erza's instructions, the boys were all wild. Gray and Natsu started fighting again, destroying whatever work they had gotten done, though it hadn't been much. After about an hour of that they all begged master Makarov to judge for them. Reluctantly he agreed.

"Hmmm..." He took his time, scrutinizing each. "Hmmm... That one." He pointed to the girls'.

The boys were crushed that their half destroyed lump of sand had lost.

"This is all your fault, ice pick!" Natsu roared.

"My fault? How is it my fault? You were the one who kept walking through it! And what kind of an insult is that, flame brain!?" Gray replied, and they were off again.

Lucy laughed uncontrollably. This really had been exactly what she needed. All day everyone played and laughed, eating and drinking. There was a swimming tournament later, and a mass game of volleyball. Ask dusk turned into night mages started to leave, each making sure to say goodbye to Lucy before they left. Soon team Natsu was all that was left on the beach. She was chatting with Erza when all of a sudden she heard a loud boom. She turned around to see fire and ice exploding in the air in beautiful paterns. Erza had a look of satisfaction on her face, and Lucy thought she might cry of happiness.

"You guys!" she cried as she raced out to her friends, jumping on them in a big hug.

"Lucy is happy again!" Happy cried, clutching her leg.

Erza came over and picked them all up in a great bear hug. Much to Lucy's relief, she was still in her bathing suit.

"You guys," the blonde cried, tears welling up. "You're the best!"

"Lucy! Why are you crying?" Natsu asked her, suddenly terrified as they were released.

"It's ok, silly! These are tears of joy!"

He looked skeptically at her for a moment, then flashed a broad smile. They laughed and hugged a few minutes more before heading their own ways for the night. Happy flew home, while Natsu insisted on walking Lucy home.

"Really," she protested, "I'll be fine! You don't have to come with me!"

"I just wanna make sure you're ok." He grinned that stupid grin at her, his hands behind his head.

"Fine, but you have to go home when we get there. You can't come in and raid my fridge or anything."

"But Luuucy!"

"No buts! Happy already went home anyway. You wouldn't want him to feel left out now would you?"

Lucy had been walking on the edge of the river like she always does. For once, the river boat guys weren't there to tell her to be careful. As if she couldn't do it without them there, she slipped, falling toward the river. She screamed, bracing herself for the impact with the cold water. To her surprise, that was not what she felt. Instead, there was a pair of warm arms around her, holding her tightly against an even warmer body.

"N-Natsu?" she stuttered, disbelievingly.

"Sheesh Luce," he answered cooly. "You should be more careful. What would have happened to you if I weren't here?" He looked down at her with a smug smirk.

"I-I..." Her heart was racing, and her face on fire. They stood for a long moment, staring into each others' eyes. "I'm fine!" she cried suddenly, shoving him away forcefully and turning her back to him.

"Alright I get it." He scratched behind his head. "You don't have to be so violent."

"W-well whatever. I'm almost home now, I can walk the rest by myself. I'm sure Happy is waiting for you anyway."

"I guess. Just be more careful, ok?"

"Y-yea, I will. Now go home!"

She walked away without waiting for him to say anything more. Her heart was still racing, she was still blushing madly, and worst of all, now she had butterflies in her stomach. When she got home, she promptly locked the door behind her, as well as the window Natsu usually came in through. She threw herself on the bed with a frustrated groan.

"It's Natsu! It's Natsu!" she said to herself. "He's not cool, or romantic, or anything like that! He's got the attention span of a two year old, he's super immature, and he can't stop fighting with Gray! He wouldn't even know romance if it bit him in the ass! Go away stupid butterflies!"

The rest of the night went by in a similar fashion, because every time she thought of him all she saw was the image of him saving her and that stupid smug smirk that got her heart racing again. After a short dinner and a long shower, she rolled in her bed for hours trying to sleep. By the time she finally drifted away, the first grey streams of light were peaking over the horizon.


	4. Chapter 4

To her horror, Lucy was awakened by the sound of pounding on her door. Reluctantly she pulled herself from her warm, comfy bed to answer it.

"Who is it?" she asked groggily, slowly pulling the door open.

"You're alive!" cried a furry blue ball as it crashed into her chest.

"Happy? What the heck?" She rubbed her eyes.

"Lucy! Why is your window locked? We were worried about you!"

Her heart skipped a beat hearing his voice. "I'm fine!" she spat a little angrily. "My window was locked because I didn't want you barging in ruining my sleep!"

"But it's already 3 in the afternoon!" He pushed his way into her home.

"Ugh! Natsu!"

"Why are you still asleep anyway? We need to go do a job!"

"I couldn't sleep ok? Just give me a minute."

She collected her clothes and went into the bathroom, mumbling angrily. The boys shrugged at each other, heading for the kitchen. When she was done they headed for the guild, and a relatively normal day, aside from Lucy's relentless blush. When they returned to the guild, Natsu left her at the bar to get up to his usual antics. Sitting there as usual was Cana, and Mirajane was there, talking with her younger sister. Lissana was the one who noticed the scowl the blonde mage was boring into the bar.

"What's wrong?" Lissana asked sweetly, taken aback by the fierce glare she recieved.

"Natsu," was Lucy's begrudged response.

"I-I see," Lissana replied nervously.

"More problems with Natsu?" Mirajane asked, her eyes wistful.

"Oh yea?" Cana chimed in. "Lucy having man troubles eh?"

"NO!" The stellar mage couldn't help the ridiculous blush that appeared on her cheeks.

"Oh my!" For some reason Mirajane was blushing too. "This is just wonderful!" Suddenly her features were fierce and determined. "Now just how are we going to get you two together?"

Lucy sweat dropped. "L-look Mira, n-not that I wouldn't appreciate your help, but I need to sort this out for myself, ok?"

The elder silver haired mage deflated. "But Lucy, you need the help. You've been avoiding the situation for weeks now..."

"W-what are you talking about?"

"Your crush! And you can't tell me it's not true! I've seen the signs!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Lucy has a crush on Natsu," Lissana whispered distantly, deep in thought.

"So here's what you have to do," Cana stated. "You get really drunk, go up to him, and lay 'im low with a great big kiss!"

"What?! Why would I wanna do that?! You guys are being ridiculous!" Lucy said flustered.

"No, no Cana! That's not how you do it at all!" Mirajane said.

"Yea, yer right, I totally forgot, you've gotta wear something really slutty too! That'll really drive him crazy!"

"Cana!"

Lucy felt completely ridiculous, and was about to leave to avoid further embarrassment when she felt a tug on her arm. It was Lissana, giving her a pleading look.

"Lucy...," she began. "Tell me the truth. Do you really have feelings for Natsu? And don't say anything silly like he's your nakama. Do you have a crush on Natsu?"

The stellar mage suddenly felt terribly guilty. She had completely forgotten Lissana was there during the conversation, and the fact that her and Natsu had something before she ended up in Edoras. It must have been hard for her to sit and listen to the other girls trying to set Lucy and Natsu up.

"Um- well- I-" Lucy desperately looked for something to change the subject.

"Lucy..."

"I've gotta go do my laundry! I'll see you tomorrow! Bye!"

With that she bolted out of the guild, feeling stupid for coming up with such a lame excuse. She had no intention of getting between Lissana and Natsu, especially if they were already a thing. It didn't matter if she had a crush on the idiot. He probably didn't return her feelings anyway, and at least she knew there was something for the take-over mage. It would definitely be best if she just let those two be together. She felt completely terrible for even considering that she and Natsu might be together.

Feeling miserable Lucy slunk home, hoping desperately that a certain fire mage and his best friend would not already be making themselves at home in her apartment. She stood in front of her door and took a deep breath, willing with her whole self they wouldn't be there. Much to her surprise they weren't. Then she remembered that she had left the window locked. A strange thing to keep them at bay, but Natsu never came through the door.

Relieved, Lucy entered, locking the door behind her. She sat at her desk for a long time, trying to come up with the inspiration to write, but the mixed emotions from earlier kept nagging at her heart. Finally she scribbled down a depressing poem before gathering up her dirty clothes to do some laundry. At least what she had said to Lissana wasn't a complete lie. But that wasn't much of a comfort to her. She summoned Plue in an attempt to get some relief. The little guy wiggled away, going "Puun!" for a good half hour before Lucy started to cheer up. After she started to feel a little better she had dinner and showered. It took all of her courage to unlock her window before heading to bed.

A few hours later she was soundly asleep, being silently watched. A certain pink haired mage sat in her windowsill, a smile on his lips. He was grateful she'd opened the window again. He didn't like not knowing if she was ok at night. She never knew it, and he wanted it to stay that way, but he'd always stop by, just to check on her. After all, he would be devastated if anything ever happened to her.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day Lucy did her absolute best to pretend like the night before had never happened. She ignored everything Mirajane or Cana had to say to her. She was quiet for the most part, and avoided Lissana completely. When Natsu finally arrived, with a great yawn no less, she returned to her normal self. They decided to take a relatively easy mission; search and rescue a cat. Happy decided to sit this mission out, mumbling something about not wanting Charle to get jealous. Lucy thought that was pretty silly, but let him go anyway. So her and Natsu headed out alone.

It was an unremarkable journey to the next town over, although awkwardly quiet. Once Natsu found a frog and insisted on catching it to show Happy. Even though Lucy scolded him, he tried his best to catch it. After that it was quiet again, until they reached their destination. An elderly woman came out to meet them.

"Oh my," she said when she saw Natsu's hair. "You must be those Fairy Tail mages."

"Um, yes, we are," Lucy said, feeling like she was being judged. "We're here about a missing cat."

"Yes, yes." The old woman produced a picture from her sleeve. "This is Boots. He's my baby. You'd best return him in one piece!"

"Of course we will!" Natsu said, a little annoyed. "What would be the point of a cat if it was in pieces?"

"Natsu!" Lucy scolded. "We will do our absolute best I promise. We'll take excellent care of him!"

"Hhmmm." The old lady still seemed suspicious.

"Um, can you show us where you last saw him?"

"Yes, this way." She lead them a short way out of the town, to a hilly place, with low valleys. At the bottom of the valleys were steam vents, and geysers, shooting off all over the place. "I last saw him yesterday, napping on that hill." She pointed to the lowest hill, surrounded by the most geysers. "Now get to work!" With that, the old lady left the two to search for her missing cat.

"Well no wonder she can't find her cat!" Lucy cried once the old woman had gone. "It probably got blown to bits in this place!"

"Aw c'mon Luce, don't say things like that," Natsu replied. "I mean, what if it really did?"

She frowned at him. She never expected him to say things like that, but whenever he did it was always that much worse for her. She didn't say anything more to him as she stomped away into the "mine field" of geysers, only to nearly get blasted immediately, barely diving out of the way in time. Natsu laughed at her, until he stepped into a steam vent getting his foot stuck.

"Aw crap," he mummbled, trying to free himself. "Luce, help me!"

"And why should I?" she asked, standing in front of him with her arms crossed matter-of-factly. "You laughed at me a second ago."

"Aw, don't be like that! Please! I'm really stuck!"

"I think I should just let you stay stuck. Maybe the steam will blast some sense into your head."

"You can't do that!"

"Watch me!"

She stomped away, urging herself not to look back, knowing he would have his stupid puppy pout face on. At that moment, as if to save her from him, the cat they were looking for appeared from behind a slope.

"Boots!" she cried.

The cat looked at her quizzically, then took off. She ran after it, leaving a ranting Natsu behind. The cat ran in a generally straight path, but Lucy kept narrowly dodging hot steam or water as it popped up behind the cat. Once a spray grazed her, causing her to dive away, scraping her knee as she fell. This continued for a bout ten minutes before she gave up and the cat ducked away behind the nearest hill. She stood there panting, hands on her knees.

"This is getting me nowhere," she said to herself. "I know! Open Gate of the Lion! Leo!"

Loki appeared in a puff of smoke, instantly taking her hand and bowing to kiss it. "You are exceptionally beautiful, as ever, my princess," he cooed.

"Yea, yea." She waved him off.

"What is your desire of me today?"

"Well, as you can see this place is pretty dangerous," she explained as he gracefully stepped out of the way of some steam. "We're supposed to be rescuing a lost cat that's here somewhere."

"We?"

"Oh yea, I left Natsu somewhere with his foot stuck in a hole. Come to think of it, I'm not exactly sure where that was anymore."

"I see. Would you like me to locate him?"

"Nah. He can stay stuck like that for a while. He deserves it for laughing at me anyway."

Loki frowned. "Why would anyone laugh at someone so beautiful as you?"

Just then the cat reappeared. "There! That's it! Catch it!" Lucy cried, racing after it.

This time she and Loki worked together to herd the cat toward a rock face to corner it. When they got it there, it turned on them, hissing and spitting.

"Do something Loki!"

"What exactly is it you want me to do, princess?"

"I dunno! You're a cat! Can't you like, calm it down or something?"

"Ehem..." he cleared his throat. "I'm sorry to say I am not a cat. I may be the lion spirit, but I am definitely a man. Even if I were a cat, there wouldn't be anything I could do anyway."

"Well... Fine!" Lucy huffed. "What're we supposed to do now? We can't just walk up and grab it!"

"Hmm... I will be right back" Suddenly he disappeared in another puff of smoke, reappearing seconds later. In his hands he had a mess of shimmering golden thread.

"What's that supposed to be?" she asked, pointing at it.

"This, is a celestial net. We can use it to capture the cat."

"All right! Great thinking!" They both looked to where the cat had been, noticing that it was gone. "Noooooo!" Lucy wailed. "All that work!"

"No problem my princess," Loki responded, picking her up bridal style.

"W-what are you doing?" she cried.

"Allowing you to rest." He gracefully dodged around, and jumped on top of the tallest hill. "From here you can sit and watch while I capture the cat for you."

"Loki, you know I don't make my spirits work for me. We work together."

"I know. But Plue told me you've been overdoing it lately. So I want to do this for you. I'll only use my own magic power, so it won't wear you out at all."

Before she could say anything he left. She sighed and looked around. It was true, she could see just about the whole place from where she was. She could see where Loki was now stalking the cat, the village behind them and even Natsu, who she'd forgotten she'd left stranded. He was sitting on the ground now, a very serious look on his face. She decided she might as well go help him. She climbed down carefully and headed toward him. When she got there she waved cutely as if nothing were wrong.

"Hey," she said sweetly.

"Lucy! Do you know how long I've been stuck here? I'm hungry!" he whined.

She shrugged. "Honestly I'm surprised you haven't just blasted the ground yet."

"I tried that...," he admitted, looking at the ground. "But that just made steam shoot out at me."

"All right, let me have a look." She went over and knelt next to his foot. "Hmmm... Maybe if we... Ok I got it," she said standing up. "You're going to pull your foot upward, while I pull this rock away from it."

"Do you thin that'll work?"

"It's better than nothing, now get ready. Pull!"

They started pulling simultaneously. Just as Lucy was about to give up, shifting so that she was just behind and slightly to the left of him, his foot came free, releasing him to nearly crush her. At the last second he cried, "Lucy look out!" and twisted awkwardly to avoid her, landing hard on his left elbow, using his other hand to prevent himself from crushing her with his body. He looked down at the shocked girl beneath him. "Are you ok?" he asked through gritted teeth.

She stared for a moment, feeling stupid for blushing at a time like this. "I'm f-fine."

"Good." He grimaced. "Hey, help me up."

"Um, o-ok. How?"

"How? What do you mean how? Just push me!"

Despite being irritated by his attitude, her blush, and tremble, worsened as she positioned her hands on his chest. At that moment she hated him for never wearing a proper shirt under his vest, meaning she could see, and feel, his perfectly toned muscles.

"Well what have we here?" Loki teased as he came upon the pair.

"Gyah!" Lucy cried in embarrassment, throwing Natsu away from herself.

"Ow!" he grunted as he landed on his back nearby. "I didn't mean like that!"

Loki chuckled as Lucy fled, desperately trying to hide the blush on her cheeks the color of Erza's hair.

"What the hell? Loki, come help me up!"

"Sorry sir, but I'm carrying a cat," he answered proudly. "And I have to go see if my sweet Lucy is ok." He left Natsu lying on the ground.

"Damnit Lucy! Why do you have to be so wierd!?" Natsu groaned.

Lucy was already back at the village, hoping nobody would spot her, when Loki appeared. "You jerk!" she cried.

He smirked at her. "My apologies princess," he answered sweetly, bowing even with the poor cat in his arms. "I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to tease you."

"Well don't! Just give me the cat and go away! I just want to go home!"

"You should at least make sure he can make his own way home."

"Luuuuuce! Why did you just run off like that?" Natsu asked as he approached, cradling his arm.

She blushed as soon as she saw him. "Whatever, it doesn't matter. We've got the cat so let's just get this over with so we can go home!" She yanked the cat from Loki's arms and he bowed again, still smirking devilishly at her, before disappearing.

A moment later the old lady popped up. "Boots!" she cried, racing forward to claim her cat. She took it from Lucy and started to smother it with kisses.

"So, here's your cat. So does this mean we get the reward?"

"Yes, yes." She pulled a small purse out of a pocket and paid Lucy.

"Here, your half of the reward." She shoved it in Natsu's face without looking at him. "I'm going home." She walked away from him.

"Wait, you're not coming back to the guild?" He followed after her. "Why?"

"Because! I"m tired, and filthy!" She was filthy, from dodging all those geysers and steam vents.

"It was just a cat! How can you be tired?"

"I just am! Leave me alone!"

"Y'know Luce, you've always been a bit weird, but lately you've been really weird."

At that moment, something in her snapped. Hearing him say that just then killed her inside. She turned on him abruptly.

"I'm weird?!" she snapped ferociously. "If I'm really that weird to you then you have got to be the stupidest most unromantic asshole I have ever met! I can't believe you really haven't figured it out yet! I can't believe you can't even tell how much it hurts my feelings when you say that let alone... Urrrhg!" She turned away from him, her fists clenched so her knuckles turned white, trembling with rage.

"Wait- Lucy- I-" He tried desperately to come up with something to say, but she was already running away, tears glittering in her wake.

She ran straight home, ignoring anyone who saw her, no matter how worried they were. She locked everything, and even barred the door with a chair just in case. She didn't even bother to shower or put pajamas on before throwing herself into bed and crying herself to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

When she awoke in the morning, the first thing she thought was that Natsu had to hate her now. Next she realized how stinky and crusty she felt. That made her want to cry again. She fought the urge until she got into the shower, where she felt like there were more tears than water. After a very long time, she didn't bother to check, she got out and changed into her favorite, most comfortable pajamas; a simple yet soft grey T-shirt and fluffy grey sweat pants. She pulled her hair into a messy bun on top of her head, not bothering to dry it.

She was definitely not going to the guild today, so she wrote a note to Mirajane, intending to have Plue deliver it for her. When she went to open the door for him to go, she spotted two little notes shoved under the door. One was just a crumpled little piece of paper, and the other was neatly folded and in an envelope.

"Hang on Plue," she said to her wiggly little friend. "Let's see what these are first."

"Puun!"

She sat at her desk and read the first aloud to him.

"Um... Hey Lucy. I'm not really that good at this sort of thing so... I'm sorry. Please don't hate me.  
~Natsu~"

"That jerk!" she cried, furious again. "And this is even in Happy's handwriting! What a jerk! Can't he even write his own apology?!"

"Puun!" Plue cried worriedly when she pounded her fist on her desk.

"Yea, I know." She sighed. "Lets just see shat the other one is.

"Hey Lu-chan, it's Levy. I don't really know what happened yesterday, but everyone is really worried about you. It has something to do with Natsu doesn't it? You know, he looked like he was going to cry when he came back to the guild yesterday. Anyway, what I mean to say is that I'm here if you need to talk. I told Mira I was going to stay home today, just in case, so if you need me I'll be right there for you. All of the girls feel that way. Well, Erza wanted to break your door down and force you to talk, but that just shows you how worried she is. At least let us know you're ok. We're here for you.  
~Sincerely, Levy McGarden~"

Lucy took a deep shuddering breath before writing a new note. "Ok Plue, new plan. I'd like you to take this to Levy's house for me."

"Puun!"

About an hour later there was a knock on her door. "Lu-chan? It's me, Levy."

Lucy scuttled to her door to open it. Standing there was her small bookish friend, as well as a few extras.

"Levy! A-and Erza? Mira and Lissana? Cana? And even Juvia?" she asked when she saw the assortment of girls at her door. "Um. C-come in. What are you all doing here?"

"Juvia was worried for her rival in love. For another man to break her heart... How terrible!" Juvia said dramatically as she entered.

Lucy sweat dropped, but decided not to say anything about it.

"It's true," Erza said as they gathered in her living room. "We were all worried about you."

"I- thank you guys."

"Lucy, please tell us what's been going on," Levy asked.

"It's a long story... So we should get comfy."

Lucy explained what had been going on for the past week from her point of view. By the end of explaining she felt like she was going to cry again.

"And... And I'm totally in love with that idiot! I'm sorry Lissana...," she mumbled last.

"Sorry? Why would you be sorry to me?" the silver haired mage asked.

Lucy sniffled. "Because, aren't you and Natsu... Y'know, a thing?"

"Oh that..." Lissana was quiet for a long time, and everyone waited for her answer. "It's true that... before I went to Edoras Natsu and I had feelings for each other but... Ever since I've come back... I can tell. He's different. It must have been very hard for him to put those feelings behind, and I don't think he wants to pull them back up."

Sniffle. "But what about you? How do you feel?"

"Well I... I want him to be happy."

"But if you still love him then-"

Lissana shook her head. "It's not that. I've moved on too. And it was really hard for me as well. I think he knows that and respects it. Neither of us want to drag up old feelings that we worked so hard to get rid of. And besides I-" She blushed a little. "I kind of liked Edo Natsu more..."

There was a shocked silence, and even Mirajane's jaw dropped.

"So Lucy," Lissana continued. "If you really love Natsu then I say you should go for it!"

Lucy nodded still shocked.

"Well then!" Cana was the first to recover. "If that's the case, then we've gotta find a way to get these two love birds together!"

"Oh that's a great idea!" Mirajane squealed, her eyes practically glowing.

"Juvia will help too!"

"Yea! Me too!" Levy cheered.

"We need a battle strategy!" Erza declared, standing up from the circle of girls that had been sitting in Lucy's living room.

"Calm down Erza!" Lucy replied, trying to wave her down. "It's not like we're going to war or anything."

"Of course it is!" Mirajane said, standing as well. "Love is the most dangerous war of all! If you're not careful, you'll be crushed!" She took on a demonic demeanor.

"Oh come on Lu-chan! It'll be fun, don't you think?" Levy winked at her.

"If this succeeds, Juvia and Lucy will no longer have to be rivals! Gray-sama will finally be free from the guilt of having to break her heart to chose Juvia!"

Lucy sweat dropped at that. She noticed that Cana remained quiet with a devious look on her face, and it made her squirm.

"Girls," Cana said seriously, horrendously evil glint in her eye. "Leave it to me. I've got the perfect plan."

Everyone stared at her.

"And what's this plan of yours?" Mirajane asked suspiciously.

"You'll see." She grinned evilly. "Lucy, today you and I are going shopping. Tomorrow, you'll sweep him off his feet!" She had just a hint of the hopeless romantic that Mirajane was. "Come on! Get ready! We've got a lot to do!"

Cana shooed the other girls away, with much protest, and waited for Lucy to get ready. After that she dragged the stellar mage into town. Lucy was horrified when their first stop was a risqué clothing shop. Without letting her protest, Cana dragged her into the place. It wasn't long before she was shoving all kinds of skimpy clothing into her arms. Some of it was similar to what she already had, but most was ridiculous.

"You have to try all of it on!" Cana ordered her after a while, shoving her into a changing booth. "And I get to see every piece!"

"What?" Lucy was flustered. "But Cana! I don't even know how to put some of these on!"

"No excuses girl! You're getting laid tomorrow! You've gotta look good!"

"What!?" Lucy blushed madly.

For the rest of the day she had to put up with Cana poking and prodding her in uncomfortable places as she fixed and adjusted clothing. Finally, Cana picked something and forced her to buy it with her own money. Lucy grumbled unhappily the whole way home.

"I don't know about this," she mumbled.

Cana laughed heartily. "Oh come on Lucy! You'll definitely catch him off guard with this outfit! Thats when ya slip in and give him a wet one!"

Lucy frowned at her.

"A kiss silly girl! I'm not always perverted!"

Cana left her at home, leaving with a lewd remark about using protection. Despite the fact she was frustrated at her friend, Lucy was filled with excitement. Her stomach fluttered and her eyes glittered. Maybe this was a good idea after all. Now all she had to do was write him a note, and wait for tomorrow to come. She went to bed early that night, excitement swirling through her dreams.

It was quite late as he stood there, staring up at her window. He wanted so bad to just hop up there and peek in at her. He was worried. He hadn't seen her at all yesterday, and the way they'd left things was really bad. He remembered seeing her tears as she ran away from him. It made his heart ache. Deciding it would be better if he just left, he sulked home.


	7. Chapter 7

Natsu awoke to the sound of excited shouts.

"Naaatsu~!" Happy trilled, bursting into his room, landing on his bare chest.

"Happy?" he asked groggily. "What's goin' on little buddy?"

"You've got a letter!" Happy bounced on him, pulling a small, pink tinted envelope from behind himself.

"A letter?" He sat up. "From who?"

"It doesn't say! I bet its a lo~ove letter!"

"What? You're silly." Natsu reached out and snatched the letter from his friend.

"What's it say?" Happy asked excitedly.

Natsu read it out loud.

"Meet me under the cherry trees tonight at 6.  
~L~"

"What the?" Natsu was confused.

"So it is a love letter!" Happy purred. "I bet she's going to confess her love to you tonight!"

"That's ridiculous!" Natsu snorted.

"Nuh-uh!" Happy protested. "I wonder who it could be?"

"How should I know, it just says L at the bottom."

"L... L... Who do we know who's name starts with an L..."

"Lucy," Natsu blurted nonchalantly. "And Levy, and Lissana. Of course theres Laxus and Loki too."

"I doubt Laxus or Loki would want a secret meeting with you beneath the cherry trees."

Natsu shrugged.

"I bet it's Lissana," Happy said. It made Natsu flinch. "You guys haven't talked bout your relationship at all since she came home."

He knew it was true. He also knew he didn't want to talk about it. He had worked so hard to move on before, and he'd had such a hard time feeling anything for a long time afterward. Until he'd met Lucy, he realized. It made him smile. The whole guild had noticed it. The coldness that had settled into the empty place in the guild had slowly started to fade away the day he'd brought her to them. Even Mirajane and Elfman had begun to genuinely smile again. It wasn't as though she had taken Lissana's place or anything, he knew that. It was more like she had pulled him out of a bad dream, and showed him that he could still be happy. When Lissana had returned it just made him confused, and his heart ached. He was so happy that she was alive and well, but that was it. She was simply his friend. The other feelings he'd had before were completely gone. All it did was confuse him more. He knew he didn't feel that way anymore, it was as simple as that.

"Natau?" Happy asked sheepishly, looking up at his friend's serious face.

Natsu shook his head. "Ah well. Whatever. I guess I'll just find out tonight!"

The pair got ready and headed to the guild. Everything seemed normal enough when they walked in at first. Happy was off like a shot in Charle's direction. Natsu grinned widely as his friend went. He scanned the guild for a familiar blond mage, sad when he didn't see her.

"Good morning Natsu!" a happy voice chimed close to him.

"Oh, hey Lissana," he responded. She was standing close to him, leaning toward him, a sheepish smile on her lips. The letter from earlier popped into his mind, and he found himself frowning.

"What's wrong?" she asked sweetly.

"Ah, it's nothin'," he told her, forcing himself to smile at her.

"Ok." She walked over to the bar, and sat down, chatting with her sister.

He suddenly felt out of place, a feeling he hadn't felt while in the guild since he was a kid. It didn't sit well with him, and he hardly noticed when Gray shot an insult his way.

"Wha'd you say, ice witch?" he responded unconsciously.

"I said you're in the way, flame retard," Gray repeated.

"Oh yea!? Bring it!" He took his fighting stance, prepared to block Gray's inevitable first swing. Suddenly the sound of Lucy's voice echoed in his head. Would you two just stop it already! It took him completely off guard, hitting him almost as hard as Gray's punch. "Gyaah!" he groaned as he was sent flying.

"What's the matter, flame brain?" Gray asked, sauntering up to him.

He pulled himself off the ground, wiping a trickle of blood away from his lip. "Just forget it," he responded grumpily, turning his back to Gray. An awed hush fell over the guild. Natsu was backing down from a fight with Gray? "What?" he snapped. Everyone tried to look natural, other than Gray still standing there shocked. "Whatever, I'm going home," he announced. He left, feeling the whispers as he went. It was clear he was in a bad mood.

"Natsu?" Happy asked tentatively, flying above him.

"Sorry buddy, I dunno what got into me," he responded, trying to fake a smile for his friend. Happy frowned at him. "It's fine. I'm just gonna go home and sleep it off. You can stay here if you want."

"Aye... I'll see you at home then."

"Yea."

When he got back to their house he simply laid in his bed. For a while he tried not to think about anything, but it didn't work. He kept coming back to how thoughts of Lucy had invaded his mind, distracting him from a fight. It wasn't the first time, and it bothered him. Although he wasn't sure what bothered him more, the fact he was distracted from a fight so easily, or the fact that it was Lucy distracting him. He was confused again.

The day had certainly started out pretty weird for him. First he got that weird letter, and then he'd briefly confronted his feelings for Lissana. Now Lucy was invading his mind, distracting him from fights. He definitely didn't like it. He closed his eyes to be met by the image of hurt on Lucy's face. She'd yelled at him for calling her weird. It hurt her feelings when he called her weird. He thought about how often he said it. Why hadn't she ever said anything to him?

He thought and thought, mostly about Lucy, and how he felt terrible for hurting her feelings all the time. His mind churned as he drifted away, the image of her crying stuck to his eyelids.

"Natsu! Natsu wake up!"

He started. Happy was standing on his bed, yanking at his scarf. "What's wrong?" he asked, stiff from having slept still.

"Natsu it's already six o'clock!"

For a moment he was confused, but then remembered the letter from the morning. He looked at it, still sitting on his bed. Then he noticed something. The way it smelled.

"Lucy!" he whispered breathily, jumping up and leaving his confused friend behind. He ran as fast as he could toward the cherry trees, toward Lucy. He wasn't completely sure why he was running so fast. It wasn't because he was late, he knew that.

He skidded to a halt when he spotted a figure leaning against one of the trees. He stood and stared, panting lightly. It was definitely Lucy, but what was she wearing? It was a tight, short, black dress, with a deep V that practically went down to her belly button. It actually did, he noticed. It was a halter top, and the back was open all the way down to just above her panty line, and the skirt was so short he thought he could see them. He noted that she didn't look comfortable at all. She looked up at him, her face stained red.

Without thinking he blurted out, "What are you wearing? I-"

"I have a crush on you."

"don't like you like that Lucy."

She stared at him a look of horror on her face. Just as tears began to spring forth she ran away. It took him a moment to process what had just happened. She liked him? Wait, why was she crying and running away? He sped after her, his heart pounding and head swimming. He didn't have a clue what was going on, or what the hot fluttery feeling in his gut was, but he couldn't stand to see her run away crying. Not again. He couldn't stand to make her cry again.

"Lucy!" he called after her. He spotted her and terror gripped his heart. She was running out in front of one of the few magic vehicles the town had. He could hear its breaks squealing, but knew there was now way it could stop in time. He leapt toward Lucy, desperately hoping that at the very least, he could shield her with his body.


	8. Chapter 8

Tears. Thats all she could, feel. Hot streaming tears on her cheeks. Had he really just said that? Without any remorse. She ran. Ran as fast as she could as far as she could. She had to get away from him. Her life depended on it. Get to her house, pack her things, and leave. Leave him and Fairy Tail far, far behind. His words echoed in her brain.

"I don't like you like that, Lucy."

The last thought she had before the sound of a screeching magic vehicle and utter blackness consumed her... Then everything burned. She screamed as she realized she was tumbling across the ground engulfed in flames and... Natsu? He was clutching her tightly, a look of pain on his face. They skidded to a halt, and she lay limply on top of him, unable to urge herself to move. The fire he'd used to shield them slowly subsided, and his grip on her slipped away.

"Natsu?" Her voice shook uncontrollably. She couldn't breathe, and she was certain he wasn't either. "Natsu!" she screamed, clutching his vest and shaking him.

"Ow," he coughed.

"Natsu!" She buried her face in his scarf, hugging him tightly.

"Sorry," he said, his voice strangled. "I didn't burn you did I?"

She pulled back and stared at him in disbelief. He was worried if she was burned? At this point in time? She laughed hysterically, crying even harder than she had a moment ago.

"Lucy? Hey, are you ok?" he asked worriedly, trying to sit up.

"You idiot!" she squeaked, and threw herself into him, knocking him back to the ground. "Thank you. Thank you so much. You saved me!" She could feel him relax under her, a grin slipping across his face.

"Of course Luce." He wrapped an arm around her. "I'll always be there to rescue my nakama."

Her heart stopped. That's right. Nakama. That's what she was to him. His teammate. Partner. Maybe family. He didn't feel for her like she did him. He'd told her so. She pulled away from him.

"Lucy?" he looked at her worriedly, reluctant to let her go.

"I'm ok," she said, but the look in her eyes didn't agree. "I'm gonna go check on the driver."

She got up shakily, walking with unsure footing in the direction of the parked vehicle. He watched her go sadly, then re-noticed what she was wearing. He tried to get up quickly, wanting desperately to cover her up, but the action made his head swim and his stomach lurch. He hissed, displeased with his body. It hurt. Of course it would, he just got hit by a car. Any normal person would probably be dead. Or at least have some broken bones.

He could hear her talking quietly to someone nearby, before she walked over to him. She looked at him, her face expressionless. "You ok?" she asked.

"Yea," he answered, grinning at her. She didn't smile though. "Could you help me up?"

She stuck her hand out for him to take, and he yanked himself up, immediately pulling her into a tight hug. "N-Natsu!" she squeaked. "What are you doing?"

"Hugging you. What's it look like? Sheesh you're so-" He barely managed to stop himself before he said it, squeezing her lightly. "Sorry."

She shook he head against him. "It's ok. Just let go of me now." She tried to pull away, but he wouldn't let her go. "Natsu, let go of me."

"Don't wanna," he said simply.

That irritated her. "Natsu, let go!" She struggled against him a little.

"Fine," he pouted, releasing her. She started walking away. "Where are you going?" He chased after her.

"Home," she told him, dragging her feet.

"Hey, wait." He stood in her path.

"What Natsu? All I want is to go home and lay down." Her eyes were glued to the ground.

"You were crying again," he said sadly. "When you ran away from me. You were crying again."

"Yea. I was. Look, can we not talk about this tonight? You already made how you feel perfectly clear." She moved to go past him but he stopped her.

"I did? When?" He held her shoulders at arms length, ducking down to try and catch her gaze.

"Back there. You already said you don't like me like that." She shook herself free of his grasp. "Don't worry, it won't effect our friendship I promise."

"Wait, what? You ran off crying because I said I didn't like your clothes?"

His comment made no sense. When did he say anything bout her clothes? She couldn't help but look at him, confused.

"I don't know what you're talking about Luce."

"Back there! At the cherry trees! I told you- I said- that I had a crush on you, and you said you didn't like me like that." Her face was red, and her gaze was on the ground again.

"Oh that." He stepped close to her, cupping her cheek with a hand, pushing her face up to look at him. "You mean when I was telling you how I didn't like it when you wear this-" he indicated her dress, "kind of stuff, and you just blurted stuff out in the middle of my sentence?" Her eyes were wide as she stared into his gaze. "I was just finishing a sentence Luce. I never got to answer what you said."

She was shaking, though she wasn't sure what from. Maybe she was cold, maybe she was scared, but maybe it was anticipation. She wanted so desperately for him to say something more. What he said was not what she wanted to hear though.

"Let's get back to your house." He grinned at her. "We can talk about it there, and get you something decent to wear."

"Yea," she answered absentmindedly.

He laid on her bed, listening to the sound of the shower. She had asked him to give her an answer the second they'd got there, and he had planned on it, but then he realized he wasn't sure what his answer was. So instead he insisted that she take a shower and get some better clothes on. She agreed submissively, very unlike herself. And there he lay, staring at the ceiling, contemplating the word "crush."

He wan't entirely sure what it meant. He knew it meant she liked him. But like how? Was it the kind of like he and Lissana had had, where they'd stand close to each other and hold hands? Or was it the kind of thing that he was feeling, where for absolutely no reason she just popped into his head, making him dizzy and his stomach flutter? Or maybe it meant something different altogether and he just didn't know about it. He shook his head, brows furrowed in frustration. He was worried. What if he was interpreting this whole thing wrong?

He buried a hand in his hair groaning, "This is why I don't think very often!" He heard a giggle, startling him into sitting up. Lucy had come out of the bathroom, in her favorite pajamas, and was watching him think on her bed. "Hey!" He couldn't help the wide grin that spread across his face. It was nice to hear her sound happy again.

She walked over and sat next to him on her bed. "And what is it you're thinking so hard about?" she asked shyly.

His face went back to frustration. "What having a 'crush' means." She shifted nervously. "I can't figure it out." When she didn't respond he looked at her, completely serious. "Lucy, what's a 'crush'?"

She blushed. "Well, it's-" She opened and closed her mouth several times, like a fish gasping for oxygen. "It's hard to explain," she said finally, her gaze meeting the floor.

"Well, what about you? You said that you had a crush. What does it feel like?"

"Well its... Pretty silly." She blushed, not daring to look at him.

"Please tell me."

"Well... Since you know already... It's kind of like, every time I see you I get really excited. But it's not just like normal excited, it's kind of warm and fluttery. And I get nervous for no reason when you're close to me. And when you touch me its..." She shivered lightly. "It makes me tingle, and my heart races. It can make it hard to breathe. And even though it makes me nervous I've always got this urge to just be near you. You make me dizzy too, and it gets hard to think sometimes...," her voice trailed off.

There was silence between them for a while, and he stared at the ground too.

Finally he whispered, "I know what you mean."

"Y-you do?" she asked, shocked into looking up at him.

He looked back at her, smiling goofily, his cheeks tinted pink. "Yea. It's like, whenever you just sort of pop into my head it takes my breath away. And it happens a lot. And seeing your smile makes my stomach flip, but not in a sick way or anything, more like fluttery, like you said." He gave her a serious look now. "And whenever I see you hurt, or upset it makes my heart ache. When you cry it kills me inside. I just want to scoop you up and hold you close. I always want to protect you, and I just don't know what I'd do if anything were to happen to you..." His gaze fell to the floor again. "That's why it bothers me... When you lock the window. It means I can't come check on you, and make sure you're ok at night." His cheeks turned redder.

She didn't know what to say. She was happy, beyond happy, elated. So she really wasn't sure why the next thing she said was, "You spy on me at night?" The way she said it made him flinch, closing his eyes and turning away from her. "I- er- that is- I didn't mean- Natsu!" she cried, tackling him to the bed.

"Luce?!" he sputtered out at her outburst. "What are you do-" he was cut off by her lips crashing into his. It made his head explode with stars, and his whole body tingled. She coaxed him to roll onto his back on the bed so she could crawl onto him, straddling his stomach as she gazed down at him dreamily. "Lucy?" he asked breathily.


	9. Chapter 9

**(Beware, this is the lemon)**

* * *

"Natsu," she replied, saying his name seductively. He shivered under her.

"What are you- ahh- nng!" he moaned as she scooted down his body, grinding her backside into his crotch.

"Natsu," she whispered, vacantly, her voice laced with lust. Her hands found their way to his chest, tracing his muscles. She gazed hungrily down at him, leaning in to take his lips with hers. She pressed against him, grinding her lips and crotch into him. It was easy to coax him into sliding his vest off, not that it covered anything anyway. Their kiss continued, and with a bit of courage she parted her lips, slipping her tongue out to taste him. Her tongue slipped across his bottom lip and he gasped, his mouth opening just enough for her to shoot in, her tongue smashing against his. Instantly they danced and fought. Natsu won, pushing her tongue back into her own mouth, following her in. Unlike her though, he took the time to explore her mouth, pushing past her tongue, slipping across her teeth, flicking at the insides of her cheeks, and then coming back to wrestle with her again. After what felt like an eternity, they broke apart, each gulping for air.

His heart pounded in his ears and his blood boiled. Natsu gently slid his hands under her shirt, hugging the curves of her hips and waist as he went. For her it was like fire gliding against her skin, her whole body heating up from his touch. They stared into each other's eyes as his hands continued up, gently pulling her shirt along with them. A question entered his eyes. She nodded slightly and he flung the shirt away. He couldn't help but tear his gaze from hers to look, his hands falling naturally on her hips. His eyes widened for a moment, and then a smirk crept across his lips. She wasn't wearing a bra.

"Wow Luce," he whispered huskily, his warm breath flowing over her creamy skin.

"Hey! S-stop staring!" she whimpered, throwing her arms over herself and sitting back, driving her butt into his crotch.

"Gyah," he groaned, in pain and pleasure.

"Oh! S-sorry."

Lucy tried to sit up but found herself flipped onto her back, both arms pinned at the wrists above her head in just one of Natsu's hands. "Luuuce!" he practically purred. "Don't hide. They're beautiful," he whispered, leaning down to kiss her erect nipples. He looked up at her through half lidded eyes. "You are beautiful, Lucy Heartphilia. Exactly the way you are." He leaned up and pecked her lips with his. "You don't have to wear stupidly skimpy clothes for me to see that. And anyone who can't see it just by glancing at you, is an idiot." He kissed her gently, holding his lips against hers, waiting for her signal to continue. He was extremely surprised when she pulled away, laughing, tears sliding down her face. He released her and pulled away in shock. "Um- Lucy?"

"Oh good grief," she muttered though fits of giggles, sitting up and instinctively covering herself. "You must think I'm a total crybaby by now." She continued to laugh.

"Uh, no, not really," he replied, completely confused. "But, uh, what's so funny?"

"I'm so sorry! It's just that- (giggle) I've always thought you were so dense- (snort) I never thought you'd notice- (snicker) things like- (laugh) how I dressed." She fought to calm down, wiping away her tears. "And hearing you say those things," she said softly, searching his eyes. "It just made me so happy. God Natsu, I love you so much." She yanked him by the scarf into another passionate kiss.

He was still so very confused, but she had just said she loved him. And now she was kissing him again. He didn't care if he was confused about everything else in the world, because he knew for sure now; he loved her too. He kissed her back, pushing her onto her back on the bed. His left hand snatched her wrists again, pinning them above her head, while his right slid up her body and began kneading her left breast. The heat of his hand made her arch her back, and she whimpered when he pulled his lips from hers to trail light little kisses down her neck. He stopped to suck on the place where her neck and right shoulder connect, breathing deeply the scent of strawberries and vanilla; the scent of Lucy. It made his mind fizzle and his whole body tingle.

"Ow! Natsu, you're biting me!" her startled voice pulled him from his daze.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, gently kissing the place that just barely kept from bleeding. When she moaned at his kiss he decided to continue, speeding things up a little so as not to lose himself again. He quickly trailed fluttery kisses down her neck, across her collarbone and into the valley between her breasts. She shivered under his heated touch. Deciding her right breast deserved a little attention too, he kissed his way up to her hardened nipple. It made him smirk before he took the pink bud in his mouth, sucking lightly, simultaneously pinching the other with his fingers. Lucy gasped and arched into him, pleasure and heat building in her bosom. His tongue swirled in circles for a moment before roughly flicking at her, and then swirling some more. He sucked and swirled and flicked at her for a while as she squirmed beneath him. Finally, he pulled away, dragging his sharp teeth a little, eliciting a moan, before repeating the process on the other side.

Once satisfied with the lavishing he'd provided her breasts, he kissed his way down her chest and down her stomach. He smirked into her stomach as she moaned under him, straining against his grip, when an idea struck him. His smirk widened into a devious grin as he gently pulled her arms toward the head board. She looked at him curiously for a moment before her eyes widened. Natsu tugged his scarf from his neck and began tying her wrists with it.

"Wait Natsu, no!" she whimpered.

"Why? What's wrong?" he asked, pausing, voice full of worry and innocence.

"I- I don't wanna ruin your scarf..."

At that he smirked. "Don't worry," he whispered seductively, leaning in close and nipping her earlobe. It made her squeak, and her body jump. "It's really strong." He continued to tie her to the decorative post in the center of her head board, then lightly nipped her neck. She moaned and her body jerked against it's restraint. It was indeed a strong scarf.

Satisfied, Natsu kissed his way back down her body, nipping gently at her sides. The way her body squirmed and arched under his touch and the sounds of pleasure escaping her lips made him grow excited, like a kid in a candy store. He wanted to explore every inch of her body and find every place that made her squirm. But there was an obstacle in his way. They were gray and fluffy sweat pants. He frowned at them, wanting nothing more than to burn them away. But he knew Lucy would kill him if he did that, so he settled for a more domestic tactic; simply hooking his thumbs under the elastic band and yanking them off.

"Ah!" she gasped and squirmed.

Natsu took a moment to look his prize up and down, now only clad in lacy black panties. His devious grin returned as an oddly familiar scent invaded his nose. It was intoxicating, making his mind fuzzy, and his body tremble. He found himself licking his lips as he brought his face close to the place between her legs.

"N-Natsu? What are you- gah!" she cried, as he buried his nose in her folds through the cloth, breathing deeply.

"God Luce, you smell so good," he moaned, breathing deeply again.

"Ah-ah!" she moaned at the vibrations his voice caused, straining desperately against his scarf. She tried to close her legs and push his face away but was stopped as he firmly grasped her thighs with either hand.

"And it's so wet," he hummed. She couldn't suppress another moan as her body arched, driving his face further into her. "I wonder what it would taste like." At that her whole body shuddered and she could feel him smirking. Deciding to find out, Natsu slid the tip of his tongue along the damp fabric, noting the little nub he felt underneath, and how touching it made Lucy writhe. The flavor itself wasn't bad either, almost like honey in his opinion. When he licked again she moaned his name.

"N-Naaatsuuuu!" Her voice was strained but laced with pleasure. "M-more!" And he obliged, singing the sides of her panties and ripping them off. She hissed at that but was moaning a moment later as his tongue slid over her clit. She squirmed and squealed as he continued, heat and pleasure coiling in her abdomen. Her stomach flipped when he inserted a finger, slowly pumping in and out of her, his tongue still working her clit. Soon he inserted another and started to pick up the pace. "Nya!" she practically screamed when he hit her g-spot. She could feel his smug smirk, but stars exploded in her vision as he stroked her repeatedly. "Ah! N-Natsu I'm gonna-" her voice trailed into an incomprehensible moan as the heat and pleasure exploded through her body, releasing on his face. He continued his ministrations as she rode her orgasm, greedily lapping up her juices. A minute later she lay limply on the bed as he cleaned her with his tongue.

Once he was done, Natsu crept back up her body, hovering just above her. He stared excitedly into her eyes as he spoke, "C'mon Luce. You can't be done yet. I'm still fired up." With that he gently rubbed his pants covered erection against her thigh.

"Oh yea?" she replied seductively, squirming a little. "Untie me and I might be able to help with your little 'issue.'" She rubbed him back.

His eyes closed and he hissed, so she continued to move her leg against him. "Fine!" he spat finally, pulling the scarf away from her hands. Free at last, Lucy pounced, throwing Natsu on his back. She snatched up the scarf and quickly tied his hands, as he had done to her, fastening him to the base board of her bed. "Wait, Lucy, what are you-"

"Ah-ah-ah!" she interrupted him, wagging her index finger in front of his lips. "It's my turn now, you naughty dragon." The domineering tone in her voice made him shiver. "Now." She crawled over him and brought her lips to his ear. "You've got yourself a problem down there, don't you?" Her hand ghosted over him. He hissed, swallowing at the lump in his throat and nodding. "Would you like me to help you with it?" He nodded again. "Say please," she ordered.

He swallowed again, then, "Please."

"Please what?" she asked, torturing him with tiny brushes.

"Please help me with my issue," he said, trying to sound calm.

"I can do that," she said in a devilish tone. "But I might want to torture you first." With that she nipped his earlobe.

"Ah!" he hissed. "W-why? Why would you want to t-torture me?" he stuttered as she trailed tiny light kisses along his jawline.

"Because I can," she replied, nipping him again. "And because you tied me up."

"Nnnng!" he groaned, trying to wiggle his hands free.

"Now, now Natsu, you shouldn't do that. If you misbehave, we'll have to start all over."

"W-what do you mean?"

"We'll start with a kiss," she whispered pressing her lips gently against his. After a moment she pulled away, trailing kisses along his jawline up to his ear, trailing the tip of her tongue along the outside of it. "Next, I'm going to mark you," she blew into his ear, trailing her way to the nape of his neck. She roughly nipped the sensitive skin before pulling it into her mouth to leave her mark on him. She pulled away then and looked down seductively at him. "Now, the rules are simple. No trying to free yourself, no protesting, and you have to remain quiet."

"W-what?" Natsu half whimper half growled.

"Ah-ah!" Lucy scolded. "That was a protest. Now we have to start all over." She repeated the process again, though without the narration, leaving him with a second hickey, right next to the first. He desperately struggled not to groan or complain about the agonizingly slow torture. From his neck, she slowly kissed her way down his collarbone, while her hands slipped across his exposed torso, exploring his chiseled muscles. Her mouth made its way to his right nipple, while her hand found his other. She mimicked what he had done to her.

"Nnnn," Natsu groaned without realizing. Lucy froze immediately, slowly pulling away from him. "Wait, what happened?" he asked confused, desperate for more attention.

"You made a noise," she replied slyly. "Now we have to start from the beginning again."

"What?!"

"And that was a protest! Should I do it twice then?"

"No! Once is enough, I'll be good I promise!"

"My, my," she whispered huskily. "I never imagined the invincible dragon slayer Natsu Dragneel could be so subordinate."

At that he growled. "If this were anything other than the scarf Igneel gave me I'd have ripped it to shreds and had you crying for me not to stop by now!" He bared his sharp teeth at her angrily.

"Is that a threat?"

"It's a promise Luce." His deep, foreboding voice made her tremble lightly, and he could feel the heat returning to her skin. "Looks like you've got a bit of an 'issue' yourself now. I could help you, if you like."

"Shut up!" she replied and nipped his side. It made him groan and arch under her touch. She quickly fluttered down his side to the waistband of his pants. He lay very still, staring down expectantly at her. She smirked up at him, lightly pulling on his pants with her teeth. "You want me to take them off?"

"Yes," he responded demandingly.

"Natsu, you should ask a little nicer. After all, you're still tied up." He snarled at her, bucking his hips a little. "Oh alright. I suppose I am being kind of mean." With that, Lucy began to undo his belt, at an agonizingly slow rate.

"Oh, c'mon Luce, if you go too slow I might lose interest."

"Oh yea? Your friend here doesn't seem to agree," she cooed, rubbing her cheek against the the hardness in his pants. He growled again. "Alright, I get it, Natsu." Finally, Lucy tugged him free of his pants. He was, intimidating, to say the least, and she couldn't hold back her gasp.

"What? What's wrong?" Natsu demanded, looking down at her.

"Nothing. It's just... Really big."

"Well what were you expecting Luce? I am a dragon slayer."

"That shouldn't have anything to do with the size of your penis you idiot." She paused a moment. "Maybe even too big," she mumbled, reaching out tentatively. Her touch made him twitch, at which she squeaked.

"Oh come on Luce. It doesn't bite I promise, and yer driving me crazy here! Just do something already!"

Miffed at that, Lucy decided to take extreme measures to silence him, at least in a coherent matter. She glared at him and he glared back before she leaned over him, blocking the view of what she was doing. She hovered there for a moment, making him frustrated and impatient. Then suddenly he could feel her hot warm breath at the base of his member, followed by her soft wet tongue, sliding it's way up his length. He could't suppress his moan when she reached his head, attacking his slit before engulfing as much as she could in her mouth.

"Oh, god, Luce!" He moaned as she bobbed up and down. White hot pleasure surged through him and it was all he could to to keep from thrusting into her and choking the poor girl. The coil in his abdomen wrenched and he knew it wouldn't be long before he peaked. "Luce, slow down," he pleaded. She sped up. "Luce, wait, I'm gonna- Luuuuce!" he moaned deeply as he released inside her mouth. The speed at which he came surprised her, and she choked on some, a little slipping down her chin. Grasping for sanity, Natsu looked down at the beautiful girl, with his seed dripping from her lips. She looked back at him seductively, slowly reaching her tongue out to lick her lips clean. "Damn that's hot," he gasped breathlessly.

"You think so?" she asked teasingly. Lucy looked down to see the left overs seeping out of her lover. "What about this?" She leaned down and slowly dragged her tongue across his abdomen, and then across his head. Despite being so tired Natsu moaned deeply, as she cleaned him up.

"S-stop," he whimpered when she persisted.

"And why should I?" she hummed into him.

"Ah! Because, it's really sensitive right now! It's too much for me to take!"

"Sensitive is it?" An evil tint entered he eyes, as she began to shuffle on top of him.

"Luce?" he asked. "Lucy what are you- ah!" he gasped. Lucy had a firm hold on him, hovering her own body above his. "W-wait Luce, what are you doing?" he demanded breathlessly.

"Torturing you," she whispered darkly. With her words she touched the tip of his over stimulated appendage to her once again dripping folds.

"N-no," he whimpered helplessly, unable to even strain against his binds. "I can't take it Luce. This is too much for me!" The deep throaty moan that escaped his lips as she lowered herself onto him didn't agree. "W-wait please! At least untie me! I want- I want to hold you."

Lucy took a moment to consider this, then said, "I suppose." She leaned over him, gently undoing the knot in his scarf. Before she was even done, he slipped his hands free, gently grasping her face, pulling her into a soft but passionate kiss. Their lips pressed together, Natsu flipped them over, never breaking their kiss.

After a long moment they parted. "I love you too," he whispered, gently nuzzling her neck. Lucy was startled for a moment. She had completely forgotten she'd even said it. Before she could react, soft little snores were escaping his throat.

Lucy smiled before snuggling into her lover. "Goodnight Natsu." She kissed his brow gently before drifting off herself.

* * *

**A/N: Well, there it is, my brain barf. Sorry if the ending seemed a bit rushed. I've been writing this thing forever, and honestly I'd grown a bit sick of it by the end. Anyway, please review!**


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